Posted:
May 17, 2021
Order extended to support COVID-19 response
Communication tools essential to the public sector’s response to COVID-19 will remain available to staff on the front lines of the pandemic.
Lisa Beare, Minister of Citizens’ Services, May 12 extended an order under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPPA) that has put vital software and technology in the hands of health-care workers, educators and other public-sector staff.
The order was put into place March 26, 2020, during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The temporary measure is now set to expire on Dec. 31.
B.C. is one of two Canadian provinces requiring the personal information of its residents to be stored in – and only accessed from – Canada. This requirement would normally prohibit the use of some communication and collaboration software proven vital to the province’s work to protect people and communities from COVID-19.